Internet Of Things, The Revolution Of Our Environment

Much has been talked lately about the ¨Inet of things ¨ or Iot by its initials in English (internet of things). In many papers that I have attended, and in conversations with colleagues, this famous topic about the technological revolution that will come with the Internet of things has emerged . For companies and users this will mean an important technological leap, but before we form an opinion, let’s go a little more in detail about what the Internet of things really is.

It is understood by the internet of thingsas; the stage where smart objects are already: wearables, appliances, cars, clothes and even animals and people are connected to the internet. Regardless of the size or type of element, if a device can be connected to a network; generates a data interaction, because each object has a UID (Unique Identifier) ​​or unique identifier, which is an alphanumeric code that specifically recognizes it. Now, all this information is stored in a database system, which can be accessed for further analysis. Also these objects to be connected to a WIFI network for example, are connected to a distinctive IP which is stored in the database of a server, and this is another metric to take into account,

How did the Internet of things originate?

The term Internet of things or the Internet of objects as it is also known, was coined in the famous MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), specifically in the Auto ID Center in 1999. This concept is not new, but as it usually happens with the new technologies are developed in the scientific or military world and do not have a use for the market until some visionary uses them with another approach and massifies them.

Smart objects are more and more present in our lives, very few people do not yet have a smartphone or a tablet. More than 10 years ago, the intelligent refrigerators ordered eggs or milk to the supermarket when they were about to finish, the command consoles of an industry sent an email to the technician when they needed maintenance, the cars had a built-in GPS with the coordinates and routes to follow, our pets were inserted a chip with GPS in to know where they are. All these are examples of the Internet of things , only they were not known by this name.

The Wearables and the Internet of things

Nowadays the concept of “wearables” is used, which can be translated as “carried” and without going any further, a definition of these serian: all the technological devices that we carry in our body to perform a specific function, that have a microprocessor and interact with us in a digital way, throwing specific data of our interest and with an internet connection. But you could think ¨ this is nothing new I have a laptop at home and I do not call it Wearable¨ The truth is that smart TVs and tablets do not fall into the category of wearables, because the user does not wear them on their body and he perceives them as strangers, that is, they are not wearable. The first Wearablesthat were launched to the market were the Nike + shoes. This shoe model was designed for runners, since it synchronized with the user’s Ipod delivering real-time data of their performance and even gave them the option to publish their sports performance on social networks.

Some examples of wearables are:

Smart watches

Ipod watches

Smart glasses

Bra with heart sensor

Smart clothes

Go Pro Camera

A smart planet

Although it looks like something out of a science fiction movie, the world we live in is becoming more and more connected. In this scenario where people wear wearables for daily life, everything we do or pass will be recorded on the network.

The internet of things is making great advances in the field of medicine, especially in real-time monitoring of patients with heart or life-threatening conditions. Nanofibers in garments that can measure the body temperature or changes of state in the patients under observation, this will mean a great difference in the response time in front of an emergency. For people suffering from diabetes, a device has been developed that is placed on the patient’s skin, this device has a sensor that measures the amount of glucose in the blood and injects the exact amount of insulin to the patient. Then I would send a report with specific data about the patient’s health to the doctors.

A short time ago I read an article about a jacket that reflects the mood changes of the person who wears it, this jacket is connected to the Internet and has semiconductors that allow you to project videos on your sleeve.

Our home connected 24/7

The most fertile place where proliferates the I nternet of things, it is in our home. Without us realizing our houses are becoming a hub of connectivity, and I do not speak only of WIFI or smart televisions, I am talking about that in some years, our homes will have many devices connected to the Internet throwing data on the way that we live. A smart home means more comfort in our lives; Imagine when you are going home at night and before you get to be able to turn on the lights through your smartphone, or that you receive a message to a device of your choice when the plants need water or fertilizer. Imagine a toothbrush that alerts you to the presence of cavities or problems with your teeth, a toilet that analyzes your urine and advises you on your diet or a fork that helps you measure the speed with which you eat so you have a better digestion.

Internet of things a Mr Mr Jeckill and Mr Hydedigital

We have already talked about the many benefits that this technological revolution of the Internet of Things would bring , but like all sides of the coin, now let’s talk about the risks of being connected to the Internet all the time.

The security of our data in the network is a sensitive issue, many people prefer not even to think about it, now, if we have problems to eliminate our Facebook profile or we are worried that the big monsters of the Internet will know what we do for our accounts of email or having access to our cookies, imagine for a second the control they will have over us once they can have the data in real time about the functioning of our bodies, or specific data about our homes, or even worse about our children.

Every day millions of Gigabytes are generated in Data, this information for many goes unnoticed, but large companies have been working on models of interpretation of that data for years. If the tendency is that we carry in our body more and more traceable devices, in what minute they will stop receiving information about us, to what extent we want the corporations to have information about our lives. Even if a person is inactive that does not mean that they stop generating data, companies can know for sure how many hours we sleep per night, what we see on television before bedtime or what we see on our smartphone when we are in the bathroom. As the old adage says “knowledge is power ergo,” absolute knowledge is absolute power.

The Internet of Things came to change the rules of the game, the process has already begun and it will depend on us the level of our involvement.

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